Golden Age? Show Me the Coinage

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A prolonged period away from the cutting room has resulted in my giving a great deal of thought to our collective lives in post-production. Not that type of a break that we all know as “I’m on vacation” — which quickly gives way to “My god, I need a gig!” — but a true respite. Perhaps it’s the tranquility of the Wisconsin countryside. Or living in a town where the Calendar Section is… a calendar! Or the fact that at the age of 63, I just may be given to actually enjoying a slower pace. Of course, raising two grandkids, ages two and four, does keep one on one’s toes…

My few forays into non-feature editing were no less challenging. But they paid less money.

But as I continue to read about this new “Golden Age” of cable, TV, streaming, etc., and the fine work being done in post (despite the proverbial tight schedules constantly referred to), I find myself asking, “Why does the pay still suck?” Why are editors, mixers and the like told, “Oh, we/they don’t pay that rate,” or assistants placed in the uncomfortable and unfair position of working in an environment where, “we/they don’t pay OT.” Sure, they may have their lunches purchased for them — it keeps them in the building, or worse, at their Avids — which is a wise investment on the part of the producers. But fancy items in the pantry shouldn’t be considered a “fine perk.”

The caste system still imposed on those in post-production seems to harken back to when the schism between features and television was very real, clear and finite. However, this “Golden Age” has greatly changed that dynamic. As a feature editor for many, many years, I for one enjoyed the upside of that system. My few forays into non-feature editing in the last couple of years were no less enjoyable or challenging. But they paid less money. Why?

Why is cutting a superhero/robot/ten-minute-car-chase set piece a superior avenue to financial reward than the myriad of amazing non-feature presentations out there?

As the Netflixes, Amazons, Hulus, etc., build their Xanadus in Hollywood (or as Joseph Cotten called them in Citizen Kane, “Sloppy Joe’s”), I hope that those who work within their state-of-the-art facilities will be given state-of-the-art salaries.

Will this letter change anything? Certainly not. But for those in their 20s, 30s and 40s who commit themselves to a life in post, I want to give credit where it’s deserved. There should be more to their professional excellence than middling paychecks and a chance to win a shiny gold statue.

“Golden Age?” Perhaps for those above the line. But for those of us below? That line seems thicker, harder and more impenetrable than ever.